Round trip transatlantic and QM2 questions?

[BlueRiband]

...

Now please don't kill me on my next set of questions. I am a HUGE Ocean liner fan, the old beautiful steam ships of the past and yes that includes Titanic of course. To take the same journey would just be a dream come true. The QM2 to me is an Ocean liner, not a cruise ship. Anyway how is the dress code on board? I know its more formal than I'm used to but just what exactly is it like? I don't mind a bit to putting on khakis and a nice shirt for dinner, but do you have to wear that type of clothing all day? Thanks for any insight into the world of Cunard and the beautiful QM2.

 

 

I'm really puzzled by your post. On one hand you long for the elegance of the great ocean liners of the past. On the other you prefer not to get any more dressed for it beyond "khakis and a nice shirt"? These statements are in contradiction. It's not possible to have the grand ocean liner experience when passengers want to dress as if dining at a discount chain restaurant. Since you mentioned Titanic, recall that even Jack Dawson changed out of the type of clothing he wore all day!:D

 

If wearing black tie or even a suit on formal nights is a deal breaker for you than it's better that you found that out now. But what a missed opportunity it is that someone who loves ocean liners as much as you say you do would pass up the chance to be fully immersed in this special experience.

[Jacqueline]

The OP has been gone for a while.

He asked a question and it was answered.

I am a civil war buff but don't feel a need to dress up and do reinactments.

You can enjoy the history of liners and not enjoy wearing a tux.

[BlueRiband]

The OP has been gone for a while.

He asked a question and it was answered.

I am a civil war buff but don't feel a need to dress up and do reinactments.

You can enjoy the history of liners and not enjoy wearing a tux.

 

Very true. Some take comfort just in knowing that some tradition is still alive somewhere.

 

But the OP has been a CC member since 2006 and has over 1000 posts - no newbie who just stumbled upon this site for the first time. It would seem that a fan of ocean liners would at least be lurking on the board of the venerable Cunard line. :confused: Guess we didn't have our quota of "dress code" threads for the month. :D

[Katgoesonholiday]

As usual on this board when it comes to dress questions you are offered 'the counsel of perfection'. While it is true that the dress code in the brochure states exactly what has been stated above, it's observance is less than 100%. You will see guests dressed informally all about the ship after 6pm on formal nights. It is a pity but it is the reality I'm afraid. The dress code is very important to many contributors to this board, myself included. Unfortunately the interpretation of 'Formal' is often stretched to destruction. Personally I cannot understand the modern abhorrence for a tux or dark suit and tie but it must be accepted that the standard is, de facto, becoming attenuated.

It's a shame.

MM

 

On our recent crossing there was a man (60's at a guess) wearing a singlet, shorts and jandals in The Golden Lion pub at around 7pm one formal night.

 

Also on our voyage were a largish group of some religion, possibly Amish. They wore the same clothes to dinner as they did during the day - religious exemption?

 

We loved the old ocean liner feel of dressing up. My husband bought a very reasonably priced black dinner suit & a bow tie and felt well dressed in that though I did see a few (older) gents with the cummerbund.

Edited July 15, 2016 by Katgoesonholiday

[Jacqueline]

I am getting in the spirit myself, despite sounding like a party pooper.

At this point, I have three swanky gowns (like with tuille,sequins, layers of fabric) for the formal nights, one all white (for the black and white ball). When the QM debuted there was a very cute set of adverts in the US which showed a woman doing chores around the house but somehow in a ball gown imagining her trip.

The nice thing about back to backs in two dining rooms, is I can repeat !

[wenlyn]

Getting excited as we'll be off in a little over 2 weeks :) I now have my accoutrements for the roaring 20's night.

We got some paperwork today detailing the fact this is a Blue Note Jazz cruise so smart jeans will be allowed (a shame imo) so perhaps OP could keep that in mind when lining up his round trip as that would reduce the number of nights he'd need to avoid public areas/wear things he'd rather not.

[david,Mississauga]

I thought that I would never go back to back, either! Things happen. For me it is a rest and recovery trip. I have been fortunate enough to have done a lot of travel and sight seeing this year, and I'm not up to flying...so never say never!

I did not know about the credits when booking the segments separately. Thanks for sharing that information with us!!

 

As someone who is very fond of being at sea, I am not totally opposed to a "back to back" voyage. I mentioned it earlier only because most of the time a "back to back" from North America involves a same-day turnaround in Southampton.

 

I could never go to England and stay just for lunch;). We have relatives and friends in England and we love the theatre and steam locomotives (of which we have precious few in Canada). Of course it is occasionally possible to do a "back to back" other than transatlantic by crossing to Southampton and taking a cruise departing the same day. A visit to Britain would then be possible on the return of the cruise.

 

A trip I am considering for next year is a crossing from Southampton to New York then a one-way cruise to Quebec City. Although not a round-trip, it fits the definition of "back to back" voyages or, as Cunard calls it, a "logical voyage." I would, of course, book it as two voyages unless there was a significant fare advantage in booking it as one. But I have never seen that. I was checking fares for a friend who doesn't have a computer and I noticed a round-trip Atlantic crossing that was almost half the fare for booking it as two segments. I have never seen such a discrepancy that large.

[travelite]

Excellent post, thank you. As I have said I don't mind putting on Khakis and a nice shirt but a tux ain't happening. I'd have no problem eating in the buffet every night. I suppose there is no dress code there other than no bathing suits or something like that? Thanks again for the post.

There are usually 3 or 4 formal nights on the transatlantic crossings. The majority of men wear either a tux, dark suit with tie, or Heritage attire. A business suit with tie would also be acceptable.

The dining room in the evenings is a very nice experience and formal nights are usually special. It is all part of the experience. Give it some thought before you choose the buffet for every night.